Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has received a legal notice from Union Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar, accusing him of making defamatory remarks about the BJP leader on a television channel.
In the upcoming polls on April 26, Mr Chandrasekhar, who is running against Shashi Tharoor in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, has claimed that the Congress MP has spread "patently false information" about the BJP leader's bribery of influential figures and key voters, including parish priests.
The notice has claimed that the statements by Shashi Tharoor were made with an intent to harm Mr Chandrasekhar's reputation and image and that his remarks also disrespected the entire Christian community of Thiruvananthapuram and its leaders by accusing them of engaging in cash-for-votes activities.
It has also contended that the Congress MP's statements were in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The notice also claimed that the statements were also targeted at injuring the BJP leader's election campaign and benefitting Mr Tharoor in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The legal notice to the Congress leader has sought that he "immediately withdraw" all the allegations made against Mr Chandrashekhar on April 6, tender an unconditional public apology to him on print and electronic media and to "cease, refrain and desist from defaming, harassing, hampering the reputation" of the minister in the future.
It has warned that failure to comply with the stated conditions within 24 hours of receipt of the notice would lead to the initiation of appropriate criminal and civil proceedings in a competent court of law.